"Oh, that's her delicate way of snubbing you, my boy." "What the deuce do you know about it, Phil? You never wrote verses in your life. Don't you agree with me, Nellie?" "Miss Smith said Miss Delane thought she had better not keep them." "I knew that girl was a gossip directly I set eyes on her." "You're naturally hurt, old fellow, but----" "Go to the deuce! Look here, I'll bet you a fiver she takes them back and keeps them." "Done!" said Philip, and Dale seized his hat. "Why does he want her to take them?" asked Nellie. "Vanity, my dear, vanity. I suppose he's accustomed to having his verses laid up in lavender. Is that what you do with yours?" "He never wrote me any," answered Nellie in a tone of superlative indifference. It being only two o'clock, Dale felt he could not yet go to the Grange. He made a detour by the town, on pretense of buying stamps; and, the stars fighting with him, outside the Mayor's shop he saw Janet talking to the Mayor himself. "Thank you, Miss Delane, miss," said the Mayor. "Mrs. Hedger is doin' nicely. She had a bit of feverishness about her, but Dr. Spink's treated her wonderful." "Dr. Spink? I thought you went to Dr. Roberts?" "I did, miss, but---- Well, things come round to me, miss, being a center like." "What things?" "Well, you may not have heard, miss, of the things that---- Good-mornin', Mr. Bannister, sir, good-mornin'. A fine day. Anything in our line, sir?" "Good-morning, Mr. Mayor," said Dale. "Ah, Miss Delane, how do you do?" His coming interrupted Janet's investigations into the affairs of the Doctor, and she took her leave of the Mayor, Dale assuming permission to walk with her. He ought to have asked, no doubt, thought Janet, but it would be making too much of it to tell him so. They had hardly started when he turned to her: "Why did you send back my verses?" "I could hardly venture to keep them, could I?" "Why not?" "On so slight an acquaintance! It was very kind of you to let me see them before they were published." "They're not going to be published." "Oh, you must publish them. They're so very pretty." "Didn't you think I meant you to keep them?" "I should have been very conceited if I had, shouldn't I?" "Well, they were for you--not to be published. If you don't like them, they'll be burned, that's all." Janet stole a glance at his face; he looked like a petulant Apollo--so she thought. "That would be a pity," she said gravely; "but I don't think I ought to keep them." "Why not?" Socrates is reported to have said that nothing is reasonable which cannot be stated in a reasonable form. Miss Janet Delane would have dissented. "Of course I like them very much. But--well, we haven't known each other very long, Mr. Bannister." "You mean it was impertinent?" "Oh, no. I thought your letter perfect--I did really. But mamma thought----" "Oh!" said Dale, with brightening face. "You would have kept them?"